Stray cat using animal carrier

Amy27 · Jul 20, 2009

I don't know if I am being paranoid but my dad wants to use one of my carriers for a stray cat he wants to adopt. The cat looks really young and has been living under his neighbors porch. So I am sure the cat has not had any vet care or vaccinations. I use the carrier for my cats and my rabbits. Can the carrier hold on to a disease that could be passed on to my animals? If I washed it with bleach should that get rid of anything the cat might be carrying? I really don't feel comfortable letting my dad use it but he is spending a lot of money to vaccinate, spay and take this cat in so if I can save him money by letting him use my carrier I will do it. I just wanted to get a second opinion on me being paranoid.

The cat is old enough to have had at least 1 litter of kittens. The kittens will probably have to be put to sleep as they are not use to humans at all and are very scary. I went to see them and this little 1lb kitten was scaring me. She has hissing and going crazy and I was about 5 feet from her/him. My dad is going to call the humane society about the kittens because there is no way he can catch them nor can he keep all of them. He already has 2 cats.

Thanks for any advice. I just don't really want to endanger my animals. If it isn't safe maybe I will just buy him a carrier. With 3 animals, he should really have one of his own anyway.

NorthernAutumn · Jul 20, 2009

I think it would be good for your dad to have a carrier... maybe a belated Father's Day present?

Otherwise, I'm confident you can lysol/bleach it to death, provided there's no fabric there.

The SPCA/ humane societies have to reuse their carriers, and they carry all sorts of ill creatures. Personally, I wouldn't worry about it becoming irreparably infested.

ON a side note, give the kittens a chance to get to live in the house and get to know you. I had a feral kitten come to me, hissing, spitting and caterwauling. Took about 2 days, but within a week, I could wash her little face and bum, and she'd purr like a maniac.

If the humane society isn't willing to try to tame the little ones, you may have some one-on-one success. Gentle them enough to find homes, anyway

ETA: I would get a hold of mom, then bait a have-a heart humane trap for the little ones. They should be hungry enough to go get some warm turkey

Good for your dad!

Amy27 · Jul 20, 2009

Thanks for the advice Autumn. I didn't realize that the kittens could be tamed after the way they acted so it is nice to hear your story that you had success and after a week! That is great. I am sure my dad would take the kittens to atleast tame them so they had a chance at getting a good home.

Nela · Jul 20, 2009

I'm with NorthernAutumn :biggrin2:She said it all hehe...

Amy27 · Jul 20, 2009

Thanks Nela, You guys made me feel better about it. Though I may go with the late father's day present idea. If my dad is going to be taking in all these strays, he really needs to have a carrier.